ZERO Sievert: We tried Tarkov made in Italy

There are games that aim for realism in images, and games that want to convey emotions as authentically as possible. With its pixel art, ZERO Sievert will be able to give you the same adrenaline and uncertainty of Escape From Tarkov, developed by a single person.

His name is Luca Carbonara, and he says he was inspired by the Metro saga and STALKER to make the game. Cabo StudioIt was created under the supervision of publisher Modern Wolf.

ZERO Sievert is a landing shooter or marksman where you have to prepare to face a dangerous area, recover resources in a certain area, and resist until it’s ejected (in this case, by a nice steam train) to return to base.

we have I tried ZERO Sievert It’s before the Early Access era begins on Steam and there’s a lot of potential. Its strong point is the atmosphere and, above all, the clever use of pixel art to immerse those playing in a truly hostile environment. Radiation, mutant monsters, bandits and corrupt multinational corporations are very real dangers, even if represented by a handful of pixels.

For real hunters

The most important thing to know before dealing with the ZERO Sievert apocalypse is that games like Escape From Tarkov are inexcusable. Starting a conflict is always a challenge not to be taken lightly unless you are a master of strategy. In this, the experience is strictly simulative: two bullets are enough to die and lose all collected resources. Like the games that inspired Carbonara, Sievert is set in Eastern Europe after a catastrophic event caused by failed experiments at a nearby nuclear power plant.

The basis of every hunter’s operations, this is the role you will play, shelter You can take the train to explore one of the 5 biomes in the game. Each post is mapped procedurally so no two posts are alike. Some elements, such as villages or other special highlights, will remain constant, but they will never be where you left them. This is one of ZERO Sievert’s tricks: There are no enemy routines or hiding places to memorize, you must always be on the alert every time you step foot on the base.

History and tasks

The progression of the game, created by Luca Carbonara, is a series of missions increasingly difficult and dangerous. As a hunter, your task is to retrieve objects from the world outside the shelter, and from the very first moments of the game, different characters will task you to find meat, metal or specimens of mutants roaming around the plant. But Sievert’s world is full of secrets, and after successfully completing the first few landings, you’ll begin to investigate the causes of the disaster that has turned the region into a radioactive hell.

In the first few minutes of the game, the bunker bartender will tell you that the explosion of the nuclear power plant in the area, after some strange experiments, was the fault of a mysterious multinational company. references Chernobyl there is really no shortage and you can interact and confront this company to learn more about the origins of the disaster. Looking at the game counters, we discovered that there will already be three bosses in the Early Access version, and perhaps one of them is linked to the multinational’s plans. The same counters will remind you of the enemies you’ve killed, the resources you’ve gathered, and the times you’ve always died during a mission.

Inventory and crafting

As in any military simulator, even in ZERO Sievert the management of inventory and above all the management of weight carried is crucial: once you’ve exceeded the limit of only 5 kilos, you can no longer move. your hunter has one stamina bar The more objects you carry in your backpack to escape and escape dangerous situations, the faster this bar will be consumed. Often times it’s not worth taking every resource from an enemy or a killed animal, better focus on what it takes to survive (radiation reduction and health management) and items that require active missions.

Another cornerstone of the Cabo Studio title is crafting and modifying equipment. You can create new tools from the bunker’s worksheet, and best of all, change your weapons. There are countless stats for each firearm, and they can all be changed by changing the grip, barrel, sight or stock, almost like in the Call of Duty series gunsmith. Upgrading your equipment is the key to tackling the toughest biomes or the most heavily armed bandits.

suspense art

We’re in post-nuclear Eastern Europe, so geyser counter and its iconic buzz that gets louder as the radiation rises. At some points the emission is so strong that the game view (from above) is blurred, in these cases it is better to run as far as possible so as not to die from radiation poisoning. To immerse the players even more, there is excellent management of the day-night cycle and lighting: especially notable is the creation of flashes of footage in the dark of night, which creates a stroboscopic effect. real.

All these pixel art visuals have been expertly blended by Carbonara to create the thriller typical of Escape From Tarkov-style games where a single mistake can cost you your life and the resources you’ve gathered. version in early access The one we tried promises very well, and the last one will have more weapons, biomes, enemies, maps, narrative elements, and an overall improvement in the controls and AI of the enemies. The only real flaw we encounter while playing is that it’s not always clear when the line of fire between hunter and enemies is clear of obstructions: We often opened fire to attack an enemy without hitting them, revealing our position, and died dead. conclusion.